宗教的认知科学解释

宗教认知科学从认知和进化的角度,对宗教信仰的机制提出新的解释.目前主要有认知副产物理论和社会适应理论.认知副产物理论认为,宗教信仰并不具有任何进化的适应性,而是人类自身认知倾向的副产物,是一种无害的噪音.社会适应理论认为,宗教信仰能促进群体的团结合作,是一个精巧的社会适应机制,有助于群体的自然选择.宗教认知科学发展了核心概念,建立了新的宗教理论,为宗教研究提供了新的思路和方法.     

认知科学的一些最新进展

今天我要谈的是这几年来认知心理学的一些新进展。我1983年在北大讲演的时候谈到认知心理学的一些情况,这个讲演后来被整理出一本书,即《人类的认知》。因此,我想谈谈在那之后有了哪些新的发展,主要是近一个阶段认知科学、认知心理学的新情况。我     

“认知科学”与“第二代认知科学”刍议

以计算隐喻为核心假设的传统认知心理学以及联结主义心理学均不能克服离身心智（disembodied mind）的根本缺陷,当代认知心理学正面临着新的范型转换。以具身性和情境性为重要特征的第二代认知科学将日受重视,并促使认知神经科学进入新的发展阶段。作者认为在身心关系上应该坚持生理只是心理的必要条件,而非充分条件的立场,克服生理还原论的危险;应该重新审视基于二元论的生理机制这种说法;心理学传统中的科学主义和人文主义有可能在第二代认知科学强调认知情境性的基础上达成某种融合;第一代认知科学对意识的研究是不成功的,因为对知觉、注意、记忆、思维等心理过程的研究不能代替意识的研究,同时还应避免以意识内容的研究取代心理学研究的倾向。第二代认知科学中的动力系统理论关于变量（因素）之间的偶合（coupling）关系完全不同于变差分析中的变量之间的交互作用关系”,其动力系统模式可能更有助于破解意识的产生（涌现）之谜,并引发心理学研究的方法论的变革新潮。第二代认知科学的兴起将启发人们对身心关系、生理还原论、意识研究在心理学中的地位、人工智能对心智完全模拟的可能性等重大问题重新思考     

国外现象学与认知科学研究述评

现象学和认知科学有很多差异:其一,两者有各自不同的著述、研究人员、专业机构、词汇、方法等等。其二,有完全不同的初始假设:现象学认为认知的本质在于认知的主观经验,因此致力于描述主观经验的固定结构;而认知科学认为认知的本质在于其神经基础,它致力于寻找认知的因果机制。认知     

宗教的起源:适应或偶然?

如果把宗教视作一种和生物进化类似的自然现象,那么它就应该有起源和发展的过程。近年来,探索这个意义上的宗教起源已经成为了进化心理学等认知科学领域的一个研究方向。一部分科学家认为,宗教可能是作为促进了人的生存和繁殖机会的一种适应,在自然选择的过程中进化了出来。另一部分科学家则认为宗教是意识进化的一个副产品。或者,宗教的起源是适应和副产品的综合产物。     

后现代主义视角下第二代认知科学的三个特征

具有浓厚哲学色彩的第二代认知科学,拥有一些后现代主义哲学的特征,作为对立面的经典认知,对比之下也展现出现代主义哲学的特征。从反基础主义、非理性主义和后人道主义三个方面,讨论二代认知的主张及其与经典认知的关系。二代认知理论中的矛盾之处,不仅是由于认知科学的发展惯性和理论发展的欠缺,也是理论本身的特殊性导致,对未来发展的思考更需要谨慎进行。     

试论具身认知科学的典型理论特色

在认知心理学的发展遇到瓶颈时,具身认知科学引领心理学做新的突围。它突破主流心理学和正统认知科学所坚持的镜像论、表征论和容器论,强调交互隐喻;突破认知计算主义,强调认知的非可计算性;突破心理的离身性与对物质基质的非依赖性,强调心智的具身性和对物质基质的依存性;突破普遍理性或普遍形式,重视意向性和认知或智能的个别差异。正是这些突破,促进了包括认知心理学在内的认知科学在广度、深度上发展,形成了独具特色的具身认知理论。     

认知科学——新千年的前沿领域

认知科学是研究人类心智奥秘的高度交叉的综合性学科,它探讨影响人类未来发展命运的重大前沿科学问题,并且受到了社会各界的广泛关注和重视。基于大量翔实的资料,文章介绍了国内外认知科学研究现状,分析了认知科学的研究趋势,探讨了认知科学的应用前景,并指出未来研究者所面临的挑战。     

宗教应对与慢性病患者适应水平研究进展

宗教应对作为应对过程研究中一个特殊领域在近年来逐渐受到重视.通过对宗教应对的概念进行阐述,对其理论基础——压力与应对交互理论和神圣体验理论进行了简要介绍,描述了测量量表的现状,包括宗教应对的特异性量表,一般性应对量表中相关条目和自编条目,最后指出了宗教应对的方式,并指出其与其它适应相关变量的关系.     

认知科学对人格与情绪关系的研究

情绪是人的心理活动的重要组成部分,人们所体验的情绪以及处理情绪事件的方式,构成了其人格的一个重要部分。今天,情绪的研究已经成为人格心理学关注的核心领域,而人格与情绪的关系的研究则是其中一个重要的领域。     

Explaining Away and the Cognitive Science of Religion

In order to evaluate the claim that theistic belief can be explained away by science, four models of the relationship between science and theism are developed and their relevance to explaining away explored. These models are then used to evaluate an argument against theistic belief based on developments in the cognitive science of religion. It is argued that even if the processes that produce theistic belief are unreliable, this is insufficient to show that explaining away takes place. Indeed, given the difficulty of showing that the conditions for explaining away are met, it is very unlikely that such an argument can succeed.     

Debunking Arguments and the Cognitive Science of Religion

Do the cognitive origins of our theistic beliefs debunk them or explain them away? This paper develops an empirically motivated debunking argument and defends it against objections. First, we introduce the empirical and epistemological background. Second, we develop and defend the main argument, the debunking argument from false god beliefs. Third, we characterize and evaluate the most prominent religious debunking argument to date: the debunking argument from insensitivity. It is found that insensitivity-based arguments are problematic, which makes them less promising than the debunking argument from false god beliefs.     

Cognitive Science of Religion: Looking Back,Looking Forward

The cognitive science of religion (CSR) arose out of attempts to “science up” religious studies and the anthropology of religion without eliminating interpretive approaches. While maintaining this historical orientation, CSR holds promise to help bridge to other areas within the scientific study of religion. Particularly fruitful areas of future collaboration and complementary study are evolutionary studies of religion, psychology of religion, sociology of religion, and archeology of religion. In response to an invitation to explore the potential of CSR for the 50th anniversary of this journal, I briefly summarize CSR's history and current state and then offer exemplary future directions that might bring CSR into fruitful connection with other areas in the greater scientific study of religion.     

CRITICAL REMARKS ON THE COGNITIVE SCIENCE OF RELIGION

Cognitive explanations of religious beliefs propose an evolutionary past in which humans had to possess certain cognitive adaptations to survive. The aim of this article is to show that some cognitive accounts may overvalue the putative role of cognition. One such cognitive idea is an assumption that cognition has been evolutionarily shaped only, or most importantly, in the Pleistocene. This idea seems common among writers on the cognitive science of religion (CSR), but is mistaken. Cognition has been shaped throughout evolution. Another idea is that components of religion could not have been produced by natural selection (the hypothesis that religion is a by-product). But the article suggests that there are some domains in the field of religion and religious components that could be acquired and transmitted despite or even against alleged cognitive biases. The aim of this article is to argue for an extended approach that combines a cognitive account with functional naturalistic approaches, including an adaptationist one. Such distinction could imply that cognition is not functional. Obviously, this is not the case since cognition is the process of knowing, and surely knowledge is functional. However, the main argument for such a distinction lies in the key idea of the cognitive account that as far as cognition is functional and adaptive, religious components are not. Functionalism or “adaptivism” concerning cognition contradicts functionalism concerning religion. Numbers of scholars who consider themselves part of CSR seem also to consider both cognition and religion adaptive. However, in regard to components of religion, their adaptive, functional power is only secondary. The article concludes that the study of religion—as the study of cultural evolution in general—should include a pluralistic methodology combining cognitive and evolutionary accounts with the specificity of cultural evolution.     

Religion,Theology and Science: A Reformational Dooyeweerdian Approach

The most discussed (and applied) approaches to the relationship between religion and science seem to be basically four: opposition, independence, dialogue and integration. Only a few authors take into account the reformational approach that finds its roots in the work of Abraham Kuyper, Herman Dooyeweerd and others. This model may be described by the formula “inner reformation.” A historical and systematic introduction to this approach is hereby provided by sketching its understanding of the nature of (and relationships among) science, theology and religion. In the process, the originality and value of this approach to the relationship between religion and science are highlighted.     

Revelation between Cognitive Science of Religion and Dialectical Theology

Abstract

The article critically discusses the contemporary relevance and challenges of Rudolf Bultmann's theology of revelation in relation to the basic claims of cognitive science of religion. Underlying the analysis is the assumption that his theology still has some relevance when confronted with the claims from this scientific approach to religion. There are nevertheless also good reasons for arguing that his notion of revelation needs a wider and more experiential focus. The argument for such an experiential-based notion of revelation is provided by an analysis of what features qualified revelatory experience may consist in.     

How Science Is a Resource and a Challenge for Religion: Perspective of a Theologian

Religion is characterized by the attempt to create a worldview, which is in effect the effort of worldbuilding. By this I mean that religion aims to focus on all of the elements that make up a person's world or a community's world and put those elements together in a manner that actually constructs a total picture that gives meaning and coherence to life. In this activity of worldbuilding, science and religion meet each other at the deepest level. Science makes a fundamental contribution to this worldbuilding effort and also poses a challenge. There are good grounds for this twofold role of science: (1) scientific knowledge is basic to any worldview in our time, and (2) science and its related technology engender new and often confusing experiences that require inclusion in any worldbuilding.
The challenge of science is that its contribution does not easily accommodate worldbuilding because of the factors of chance, indeterminacy, blind evolution, and heat death that are ascertained through scientific knowledge. Science is a resource for us in that the features of its knowledge can lend actuality and credibility to worldbuilding.
Religion needs science for its worldbuilding if its interpretations are to be credible and possess vivid actuality. Science needs religion because, unless its knowledge is incorporated into meaningful worldbuilding, science forfeits its standing as a humanistic enterprise and instead may count as an antihuman methodology and body of knowledge.     

Religion as Orienting Worldview

Religions are complex, and any attempt at defining religion necessarily falls short. Nevertheless, any scholarly inquiry into the nature of religion must use some criteria in order to evaluate and study the character of religious traditions across contexts. To this end, I propose understanding religion in terms of an orienting worldview. Religions are worldviews that are expressed not only in beliefs but also in narratives and symbols. More than this, religions orient action, and any genuine religious tradition necessarily is concerned with normative behavior, whether ethical or religious in character. Such an understanding of religion has several advantages, one of which is its natural relation to current forms of the science-religion dialogue. Not only can the findings of cognitive science and related areas inform us about the nature of religion; scientific discoveries also prove to be important for any religious synthesis that attempts to construct a worldview for the twenty-first century.     

The “New Cognitive Science of Religion” and Religious Pluralism

Abstract : The “new cognitive science of religion” (Lawson, McCauley, Boyer, Sperber, Tremlin, Pysiäinen, Hinde) finds that certain of the brian's “inference systems” press us to postulate gods or other supernatural agents where knowledge and control are lacking. In this article we explore the implications of this new “explanatory” appraoch for Christian theology, pluralism, and worship life.     

Religion and Science in Taiwan: Rethinking the Connection

The author draws upon his experience in teaching courses in religion and science in Taiwan, as well as more traditional sources in the history of Chinese religions and the history of science in China, to discuss the relationship of religion and science in contemporary Taiwan. Various aspects of Chinese and Taiwanese understandings of both science and religion are discussed. It is suggested that the nexus for the science-religion dialogue does not lie in a doctrine of creation, which is noticeably absent in Buddhism and most Chinese religions, but rather in the human person who seeks personal health and wholeness, right relations with fellow human beings, and harmony with the cosmos. The author notes that many of these ideas are not unique to China and Taiwan and that in considering other cultures, our understanding of our own culture is enriched.